Week 6 Recap: Almost Perfect

It was off to Rhode Island to start the weekend with the first matchup of the season against the Bruins. And it wasn’t long before the visitors got on the board…Joseph Blandisi (his 5th) and Blake Pietila (his 4th on a power play) would score 3:15 apart midway through the first for a 2-0 advantage. Reid Boucher would make it a 3-0 lead with a power play tally of his own midway through the second. The amazing stat of that period? That one goal came on just two Devil shots for the middle 20 minutes, talk about efficiency. Providence would break up the shutout late in the second period thanks to the first goal of the season from former River Rat Brett Bellemore. Boucher would add his second of the game just 1:57 into the third for a 4-1 Devil lead. Rookie Noel Acciari would add a power play tally a few minutes later, but that was as close as the Bruins would get, as the Devils killed off two separate late penalties and survived 2 6 on 4 shorthanded situations to pick up their third straight win. Yann Danis would pick up his seventh win, stopping 21 of 23 shots. Vojtech Mozik assisted on the first three Devil goals, Brandon Burlon had two helpers, and Pietila, Seth Helgeson, and Corey Tropp each had an assist.

While I was spending the evening in New Jersey watching the parent club shut out Pittsburgh, the Devils traveled to Allentown to take on their former divisional rival the Phantoms. The power play came through yet again late in the first period as Mike Sislo scored his 8th of the season for a 1-0 lead. Albany would outshoot the hosts 14-3 during the opening 20 minutes, a total that took nearly the entire game for them the night before in Providence. But the Phantoms would wake up and eventually tie the game midway through the third on a Petr Straka goal. The game would go into overtime, where less than 2 minutes in Joseph Blandisi would score the game winner, extending Albany’s winning streak to 4 games. Doug Carr drew the start and picked up his first win, stopping 21 of 22 shots. Three Devils would add helpers.

The Lineup:

(best guess from what I could gather from the boxscore/highlight reel)

It was back to New England on Sunday afternoon as Albany finished off a 5 game road swing in Springfield. Halfway through the first, the Falcons had a goal waved off by the refs when the puck supposedly did not make it over before the net was dislodged. But then a video review was called…and the decision reversed. And that was literally all the offense for most of the game…there were more fights (2) than actual goals. But with 2:25 to go in regulation, the Devils finally got on the scoresheet and tied things up thanks to Paul Thompson’s first goal since returning from injury (and just his second of the year overall). It was on to overtime for the second straight day, where on a couple of occasions the Devils nearly completed the comeback. But with just 16 seconds to go until going to a shootout…Eric Selleck would send the game winner past Yann Danis, denying Albany a perfect weekend (the Falcons ended up with a perfect 6 for 6 weekend of their own). Danis would finish with 35 saves on 37 shots. Vojtech Mozik and Dan Kelly had the lone helpers of the day.

There were a total of 7 goals scored this weekend…and Vojtech Mozik assisted on four of them. Since getting into the lineup the second week of the season, he has been quietly climbing up the ranks, leading the team and tied for third in the league with a +9 rating.

Team Leaders:

Goals: Mike Sislo (8)

Assists: Matt Lorito (9)

Points: Mike Sislo (13)

+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+9)

Penalty Minutes: Joseph Blandisi (31)

Wins: Yann Danis (7)

GAA: Yann Danis (1.97)

Save Percentage: Yann Danis (.926)

The Vault:

Taking it back to 2011, when Blake Coleman won the Junior Player of the Year award from USA Hockey:

Up North with the Thunder:

Adirondack split a pair of games this week to finish out a 6 game road trip. Friday night Ken Appleby stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 4-1 win over Atlanta, while Joe Faust had an assist. Saturday Appleby would suffer a 3-2 loss at the hands of Greenville, stopping 21 of 24. He is now 7-2-0 with a 1.89 GAA and a .934 save percentage. The Thunder return home to a very easy schedule this week, just a Wednesday morning matchup with Norfolk.

This Week’s Schedule:

A much easier slate this week, as the Devils return to home ice for the first time since November 1st to start a 4 game homestand. Friday night the Falcons make their first trip to the Capital Region to finish off a home and home. Saturday afternoon the red hot Penguins make their only visit of the season.